The Neighborhood

Since 2021, our goal has been to reproduce the vibes of a university campus, but for all generations, in a single walkable square mile in the heart of San Francisco. Living within walking distance of so many friends and communities makes life serendipitous.

That mission lives on in City Campus, cofounded in 2024 with our friends from The Commons and Solaris Society. Same mission, longer-lasting governance structure.

As we envision it, a good multigenerational urban campus vibe has a few parts:

  1. Third spaces: community hangout spots (this is The Commons' specialty)
  2. Coworking: community offices (like Newton - this is Solaris' specialty).
  3. Living near friends: including coliving (one big house), cohousing (multiple adjacent houses), or villages (multiple near-adjacent houses)
  4. An intentional culture: people around you are passionate about something and have actively chosen their path through life

This is complex and requires coordination between many organizations, but the single moment we're trying to create is simple: it's the unplanned encounter with someone you love or admire. We believe this is what makes campuses feel magical.

Above some threshold of unplanned encounters, your life becomes effortlessly more connected. Below that threshold, and you become gradually more isolated. We think that most Americans live in places where they're below that threshold, like the typical suburb.

So where does this leave the Neighborhood 501c3? To be honest, we're not sure. We're still deciding whether to wholly sublimate our mission and activities up into City Campus.

We've spun out a residential real estate firm: City Campus Real Estate.

City Campus Real Estate is like a regular real estate sales team, except we donate 10% of our profits to City Campus, at no cost to you. Buying a house with us instead of a regular realtor means investing in communities within walking distance of your home.

We're also planning another of our popular unconferences: Califlorence Education.

We notice that young families often move away from San Francisco when their kids reach school age. Perhaps we can stem the flow if we increase choices for local families. Let's study how the rise of AI and other trends could enable more innovative and accessible schools and daycares. Apply to Califlorence Education here.

For more about the Neighborhood's progress and history, check out Jason Benn's blog.

The Neighborhood is a 501c3 generously supported by Schmidt Futures.